Saquon Barkley excited to have Evan Neal up front
The Giants made two selections in the first round of this year’s draft, and both players are expected to have an immediate impact.
While Kayvon Thibodeaux may end up making more individual splash plays as a pass rusher, Evan Neal’s potential success could lead to more explosive plays for the offense as a whole.
One player who is clearly thrilled to have the 6-foot-7, 351-pound Neal blocking up front is Saquon Barkley.
“Evan Neal, he’s a physical specimen,” Barkley said Tuesday, via the New York Daily News. “He came for the draft top-30 visit. All the draft people kinda were by my locker. He was there and I was like, oh my God, who is that?
“I saw him and was like I would not be mad if we would pick him up. I didn’t know he was gonna drop that far (to No. 7 overall), but great. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
The Giants were ecstatic to emerge from the first round with Thibodeaux and Neal. The experts were also high on the team’s picks and draft class as a whole, evidenced by the high marks the Giants received after the draft.
Barkley is especially excited about the addition of Neal, who along with free agent signings Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano should help improve Big Blue’s offense.
“They’re great talents,” the running back said about the two first-round picks. “I’m excited especially selfishly as a running back, when you get a 6-7, 350-pound lineman helping you out — but not just myself, the quarterback, too, and our offense in general.”